Allow me to take a moment and deviate from the purpose of this blog.
Yay New York! :-)
Ok, so same sex marriage doesn't have much to do with burlesque but a lot of burlesquers would like to have something to do with it, so I guess there is a connection. Where there will be a disconnect in this post is that my message is not to fans of burlesque but to the detractors of same sex marriage... a largely useless exercise because none of them read my blog. Meh. Still here we go.
Having grown up in a Christian home, and for a good part of my life having planned on becoming a Pastor, I have had a lot of contact with all sorts of people who lay claim to the title of Christian. Some are hate filled, biggoted jerks. Some are open minded, loving, and truly Christ-like individuals. Most are some where between those two. Unfortunately the biggoted jerks tend to be louder than the Christ-like Christians so guess where the majority lean towards? Well we all know this. The media is full of it. Even liberal Democrats get hung up on the rehtoric of some of these hard liners, at least where it comes to same-sex marriage.
"Oh it is fine if they want to be together..." (or in more vulgar terms - "I have no problem when boys or girls f*king each other...") "...but marriage is sacred and should be between a man and a woman!"
A number of these voice have shouted out in the wake of NY's legalization of same-sex marriage; Sen. Ruben Diaz for one (a Dem). The Catholic bishops of NY went so far as to release a statement saying that the law changes "radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage." (Thank you NPR)
My response to them, as a gay man, an individual who grew up in a Christian home, AND and student who has studied Christian doctrine and theology for most of my life is a resounding: WTF mate?!
Seriously, do people have any idea what the historic understanding of marriage is? Hell, if it wasn't for Paul, Christianity would have died out years ago because Christians by the earliest tenants of the faith should be celibate. During the day of Jesus and before, marriage could exist between a man and really as many women as he could financially support. True custom (not doctrine) often limited this in some groups, but really the contemporary view of one man one woman marriage is less than two-thousand years old... hardly an historic view for "humanity".
And more where Christianity is concerened, Jesus openly distanced himself from marriage, claiming that marriage has no place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? Because when it boils down to it, marriage was, has been, and is still about property. Who owns what? Who owns whom? And according to Jesus, ownership is not part of Heaven.
The Church adopted a concession uttered by Paul in his regards to marriage and made it into divine edict, and now considers it God's design for marriage. Really Paul was just saying "not everyone is as good as me, so I guess you can get married... BUT keep it to one person, so as not to be ruled by lust." (He was SO a closested homosexual but that is a whole other discussion.)
Ok, so this is not an academic paper, more like an emotional rant, so forgive my all caps when I say, seriously guys, Christianity HAS NO CLAIM TO MARRIAGE! Get it? Marriage is a thing of the Earth, not of Heaven and as such keep theology out of it. If you want to live like God in Heaven, be as "the angels, who neither marry nor are given in marriage." Go join a convent, or monastery, or live in a hippie commune. (Strangely Jesus didn't talk much about sex... he just had issues with marriage.)
If gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, etc. want to enter into the marriage contract, than it is purely a thing of the state... and if the canonization of divorice, multi-racial unions, women wearing pants etc. haven't ruined "forever, humanity's historic understanding of marriage" than a bunch of gays and lesbians tying the knot, certainly will not.
Go New York! Go every state that has taken this step toward equality. Go God for wiring my brain to go nuts over cock. Go every one of my brothers and sisters who takes the opportunity that has been given them to tie yourself to pre-nuptials, joint tax filing, and all of the other sordid things that go into a contemporary marriage. Most of all, go out and be who you are; love who you love; and don't be a douche. To quote, Santa Gaga (Our Lady of Freedom), "baby, you were born this way."
Amen,
~ Fosse Jack
Amen to that!
ReplyDelete